Starworks returns with Audi GTD program

Starworks returns with Audi GTD program

Starworks Motorsport is returning to IMSA’s WeatherTech SportsCar Championship with a new GT Daytona effort that will reunite team owner Peter Baron and longtime driver Ryan Dalziel. The pair will be joined by young standout Parker Chase in an Audi R8 LMS GT3 that will receive updates to the latest EVO specification.

“Despite not fielding a Starworks Motorsports entry ourselves, our team has still been very busy in both IMSA and Pirelli World Challenge,” said Baron, whose Florida-based team has worked with Germany’s Land Motorsport Audi effort. “I have enjoyed success and working personally with the Audi Sport Customer Racing group and look forward to continuing to strengthen our relationship in America. Based on all the success we had with Parker Chase and Ryan Dalziel in Pirelli World Challenge in the Audi R8 LMS, we felt it was the right time to move and enter into the IMSA WeatherTech series full-time.”

Dalziel rejoins the team where he and Baron, along with a wide array of co-drivers, enjoyed considerable success in Grand-Am Daytona Prototypes and in LMP2 machinery that delivered a WEC championship and a class win at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

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As a key part of Tequila Patron ESM’s Nissan DPi effort, Dalziel spent a considerable amount of time in recent months seeking new sponsors to keep the program afloat, but with those endeavors failing to bear fruit, continuing his association with Chase at Starworks presented a strong opportunity.

“When my 2018 program was announced it was ending, the first call I got was from Peter Baron at Starworks saying we should get the band back together,” Dalziel said.

“I’ve enjoyed much of my racing success under the Starworks banner and I’ve put all my efforts in the past few months making this happen. Continuity is so important in racing, and surrounding yourself with people who truly believe in you. This program is a continuation from the 2018 championship winning effort with Parker. He and I sharing a car with Peter Baron steering the ship is a force to be reckoned with. Audi has been a big part of making this happen, and I’m extremely grateful for their trust in us to represent them.”

Having won the most recent Pirelli World Challenge Pro/Am Sprint X title together, 17-year-old Chase expects to continue his rapid ascension in a new series.

“I’m super happy to be joining Starworks Motorsport for my 2019 IMSA campaign, and to be driving with Ryan again,” he said. “It’s great to continue my relationship with Audi as well in the new R8 GT3 Evo. It’ll be my first time at Daytona and I can’t be more excited. I’m ready to get started.”

At present, Chase is scheduled for IMSA’s four endurance rounds with Starworks, but the chance to contest the full calendar remains open.

“I’m very excited to have two drivers who not only bring in strong, consistent results, but who also work so well together,” Baron added. “Ryan and I have had tremendous success in the past and look forward to us pushing again for more wins and championships. Watching how Parker has matured in the car over last season was very rewarding, and I believe this 17-year-old is going to have a fantastic future in sports car racing as he develops from a successful sprint driver into an endurance driver.”

Marshall Pruett

The 2018 season marks Marshall Pruett's 32nd year working in the sport. In his role today for RACER, Pruett covers open-wheel and sports car racing as a writer, reporter, photographer, and filmmaker. In his previous career, he served as a mechanic, engineer, and team manager in a variety of series, including IndyCar, IMSA, and World Challenge.